Trauma-informed education has a direct positive impact on both educators and students. Find a variety of resources on this page for building resilience and capacity within your class, school, community, or self. Please add comments, questions, and additional resources to the comments below the post. You can also share feedback with us by writing eePRO@naaee.org. Like all of the resource lists in our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion pages, this list is fluid and will be updated often, so please check back for updates.

Featured Resources:

"Why Our Trauma-Informed Teaching Must Be More Culturally Responsive" (article): There is no one-size-fits-all approach to trauma response. Helen Thomas shares why it is so important for educators and administrators to consider practices that are meaningful for, and not harmful to, their particular students. This includes but is not limited to doing the work to understand the socio-political and historical contexts of the school community.

"Trauma-Informed Environmental Education: Helping Students Feel Safe and Connected in Nature" (research article): In this article, Dr. Nicole M. Evans provides and overview and framework for embedding trauma-informed practices within environmental education.

Trauma-Informed Toolkit (toolkit): Published in February 2022, Oregon State University's Trauma-Informed Toolkit, by Yasmeen Hossain, Ph.D., provides skills and knowledge for implementing trauma-informed approaches in educational settings, including environmentally-related subjects like wildfire impacts.

Media Consumption

"News and Children" (article): Parents and educators can play a vital role in helping children and adolescents process feelings and understand local and wordly events they hear about in the news, including natural disasters and other traumatic events. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry shares suggestions.

"Explaining the News to Our Kids" (article): Common Sense Media shares tips for having conversations with children about the news. Advice is dispensed for specific age ranges, from early childhood to teen years.

"Helping Children Cope with Negative News" (article): Learn how to process your own emotions and then help children in your life understand tragic events and process their grief in healthy ways in this article from the Child Mind Institute.

Strategies for Coping with Trauma

"Coping with Trauma: Grief, Loss and Tragic News and Events" (article): Berkeley University Health Services provides ideas for coping with feelings caused by first-hand trauma, cumulative trauma, or public trauma and in various scenarios and settings. These include potential actions to take and considerations for how to take care of oneself, family, and community.

"It's Okay If You're Not Sure How To Respond Emotionally to Tragic News" (article): This article explores in depth some of the primary emotions experienced after a tragedy, particularly those experienced through public sources like the news, and emphasizes the importance of processing those emotions, whichever they may be.

Tips for Survivors: Coping with Anger after a Disaster or Traumatic Event (pamphlet): In this 4-page pamphlet provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, people can find tips, positive actions, and resources on how to cope with anger after a traumatic event.

Tips for Survivors: Coping with Grief after a Disaster or Traumatic Event (pamphlet): This 4-page pamphlet by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides an overview of grief, traumatic grief, and a list of resources, including organizations, treatment locators, and helplines.

Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Coping with Retraumatization (pamphlet): What is retraumatization? How do you identify the signs and symptoms? What are some ways to develop resilience to it? Learn more in this informational pamphlet by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Managing Stress (pamphlet): The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides an overview of possible reactions to a disaster, along with some helpful resources for relieving stress, in this 3-page pamphlet.

Trauma-Informed Teaching

About Psychological First Aid (PFA) (website): This page within The National Child Traumatic Stress Network website provides an overview and detailed description of the Psychological First Aid e-learning course.

• "Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online" (e-learning course): Learn more about PFA in a 6-hour interactive course that puts the participant in the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene. Trauma experts and survivors share innovative activities, video demonstrations, and mentor tips. This course is meant for individuals new to disaster response who want to learn the core goals of PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review.

"Helping Students After a School Shooting" (publication): The American School Counselor has composed a comprehensive list of resources to help students and adults in school communities process and cope with the trauma of school shootings, from counseling to conversations to safety protocols.

"How to Talk With Kids About Tragedies and Other Traumatic News Events" (article): David Schonfeld, MD, FAAP shares advice on how to start a conversation with young children after a tragedy or crisis, and about what you can do to help them cope.

"Promoting Compassion and Acceptance in Crisis" (article): The National Association of School Psychologists has developed a list of key messages and tips for parents and adults to use to help children respond to traumatic events with compassion instead of hate and anger, including modeling nonviolent and peace-making behaviors, having factual and truthful conversations, avoiding stereotypes and hateful language and behaviors, and more.

Supporting Resilience in Schools (resources compilation): The California Department of Education provides resources designed specifically for educators, parents/caregivers, and students in order to foster resilience in schools.

"Trauma-Informed Environmental Education: Helping Students Feel Safe and Connected in Nature" (research article): In this article, Dr. Nicole M. Evans provides an overview and framework for embedding trauma-informed practices within environmental education.

Trauma-Informed Toolkit (toolkit): Published in February 2022, Oregon State University's Trauma-Informed Toolkit, by Yasmeen Hossain, Ph.D., provides skills and knowledge for implementing trauma-informed approaches in educational settings, including environmentally-related subjects like wildfire impacts.

Trauma Resource Institute (organization): The Trauma Resource Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to research-based skills-building and training for national and international frontline service providers, community leaders, and clinicians. Through TRI, educators can become certified as a Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® Teacher.

"Understanding Trauma-Informed Education" (article): Matt Portell, principal of internationally recognized trauma-informed school Fall-Hamilton Elementary, offers guidance on six misconceptions about trauma-informed education, such as how to think about ACE scores and an educator’s role in a student’s experience processing trauma.

"Why Our Trauma-Informed Teaching Must Be More Culturally Responsive" (article): There is no one-size-fits-all approach to trauma response. Helen Thomas shares why it is so important for educators and administrators to consider practices that are meaningful for, and not harmful to, their particular students. This includes but is not limited to doing the work to understand the socio-political and historical contexts of the school community.

Thank you to the California Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE) for gathering some of the resources found on this page.